TWD—Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream—My Pick!

Oh. My. Ganache! (How clever is THAT saying?)  This is the ultimate chocolate ice cream.

It’s  finally my turn to pick the recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book, Baking From My Home to Yours in our baking group, Tuesdays With Dorie.  At the time I needed to pick and get my chosen recipe back to Laurie, I was not in a position to look through the book over and over, though I do that a lot.  I had not totally decided what to pick yet.  But since I was short on time and have been on such a homemade ice cream kick this summer, I decided to go with the Chocolate Ganache Ice cream.  I made it a couple times over the last year or so and it was fantastic—perfectly chocolaty and smooth and creamy.  If I had really thought through it, I wouldn’t have picked something that not everyone has the equipment to make it (an ice cream maker), but since I knew David Lebovitz has a great method to making ice cream without a machine, no one really has an excuse not to participate! ;)

This is how I like it the best—right out of the ice cream maker, soft serve.  Because it has so much good quality chocolate in it (70% Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate is my choice), it really hardens up after a few hours in the freezer.  Never fear though, just nuke it for a minute or let it sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes.  Perfecto.

Since picking it for TWD, I have made it 4-5 times.  What?  I know, that’s a lot of ice cream.  Sort of.  If you think about it, it only makes a quart each time.  We have had company over a few times and I’ve shared a lot of it, like 99% of it.  It is the kind of ice cream I can only eat a few bites of and that is enough.  It’s rich. Super rich.  Almost TOO rich.  I love it.  But I decided something during these last few weeks of testing out the ice cream.  I’d rather have vanilla.  I know, can you believe it.  What I like about vanilla is that you can then smother it with any and all toppings—including chocolate.  But by using vanilla ice cream as your base for all kinds of sundaes, you can have more.  I seriously could never eat a bowl of the Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream.  But I could eat a BIG ol’ sundae with chocolate and caramel and nuts and sprinkles and whipped cream with a cherry on top if the base was vanilla ice cream.  So there, I admitted it. 

Not wanting to veer from the original Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream, I think I left it “plain” every time.  Except the last time I made it a few days ago (which I made one and a half times the recipe in my new 2 quart ice cream maker—review coming soon!), I put chopped Twix bars in half the ice cream.  Good stuff.  I just couldn’t bring myself to add more things.  Maybe a little whipped cream on top of a small bowl of the ice cream would help offset its super richness.  I will make this ice cream again (and again), I’m sure.  I like that it is a custard ice cream, but doesn’t call for 6-8 egg yolks, like some recipes, only four egg yolks.

You might remember these from a few weeks ago--Chewy, Chunky Blondies—I made them into cookies and sandwiched them with Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream.  Super rich goodness!

Let’s talk about making ganache.  I used to be afraid of it.  Now, it is one of my favorite things to make.  After putting some good quality chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl, bring a little cream to a boil in a saucepan on the stove.  Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for a minute or two.   Slowly whisk the chocolate and cream together.  It will not be pretty at first.

Keep stirring.  It gets better.  Within moments, it will look like this--

You just try not to lick the spoon and double dip. ;)  Let the ganache sit while you prepare the custard.  In a bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg yolks.  Bring the milk and the remaining cream to a boil.  Drizzle about 1/3 of the boiling cream/milk into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking.  This will temper the yolks, so they don’t curdle.  Continue slowly pouring the rest of the cream in to the yolks and whisking.  Then pour the custard back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat.  Do not stop stirring.  The custard will thicken slightly and coat the back of a spoon.  You want the custard to reach 170 degrees but not more than 180 degrees.  It has been my experience that the custard comes to temperature with just a couple minutes!  Remove the pan from the heat and slowly stir the custard into the ganache.

Refrigerate the custard until chilled.

The custard will go from this runny consistency--

To this after about an hour or so--

By the time this has chilled for a few hours, it is as thick as mousse or pudding.

Look how thick!  I will admit, as many times as I’ve made it, it wasn’t always as thick as this, but it was still more thick than other kinds of ice cream I’ve made.

It’s getting there—almost done, it’s only been about 20 minutes here.

Ahhh, that’s perfection in about 25 minutes.

Sigh.  If you’re not here from the TWD group, you’re probably just dying for me to get to the recipe.  I could just keep looking at and posting more pictures of this ice cream.  It makes me want to sneak over to the freezer and have another little bite.  I won’t--or not.  You’ll never know.  hehe  Thanks for such a fabulous chocolate ice cream, Dorie!

Chocolate Ganache Ice Cream, by Dorie Greenspan, Baking From My Home to Yours (page 430)

I go for dark, dark bittersweet chocolate in this ice cream, but it is good made with semisweet as well. (You could even use milk chocolate, but the flavor will be very mild.) It’s also good with chocolate chunks, rum raisins (page 92) or both, tossed in at the last minute of churning.

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 ½ cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

4 large egg yolks

1/3 cup sugar

Put the chocolate in a 2-quart liquid measuring cup or a large heatproof bowl. Bring ¾ cup of the cream to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let it sit a minute, then using a rubber spatula and starting in the center of the mixture, slowly stir the cream into the chocolate in ever-widening concentric circles. When the ganache is smooth, set it aside.

Bring the milk and the remaining ¾ cup cream to a boil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and sugar together until well blended and just slightly thickened. Still whisking, drizzle in about one third of the hot liquid—this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remaining liquid. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring without stopping, until the custard thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon; if you run your finger down the bowl of the spoon, the custard should not run into the track. The custard should reach at least 170 degrees F, but no more than 180 degrees F, on an instant-read thermometer. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and slowly and gently stir the custard into the ganache.

Refrigerate the custard until chilled before churning it into ice cream.

Scrape the chilled custard into the bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pack the ice cream into the container and freeze it for at least 2 hours, until it is firm enough to scoop. Makes about 1 quart.

Serving: If the ice cream is very firm—as ice cream made with premium-quality chocolate often is—allow it to sit on the counter for a few minutes before scooping or warm it in a microwave oven using 5-second spurts of heat.

Storing: Packed tightly in a covered container, the ice cream will keep in the freezer for about 2 weeks.

Thanks for freezing along with me this week, TWD Groupies!  Can’t wait to see everyone else’s ice cream!  And just one more photo—you would not believe (well, you probably would) how many pictures I have of this stuff.  The Twix addition--

Thanks, Ya’ll.